Funds are requested to support the 13th International Conference on Lyme Borreliosis and Other Tick-Borne Diseases. This meeting, which has been held every 2-3 years since 1983, has become the premiere conference for showcasing research advances in human diseases transmitted by Ixodes ticks. The diseases included in this conference are Lyme borreliosis, babesiosis, human granulocytic anaplasmosis (ehrlichiosis) and tick-borne encephalitis. The conference serves a unique niche in that it brings together clinicians, clinical researchers, veterinarians, ecologists, entomologists, and laboratory researchers in a multidisciplinary approach to understanding the diseases. The tick-borne diseases represented at this conference continue to increase in incidence and geographic distribution. Research into these pathogens and approaches to control human disease has also increased exponentially. The members of the organizing and scientific program committees of this conference are all leaders in the field and the makeup of the committees reflects the diversity of interests in the field. The meeting will be held Aug 18-21st in Boston, MA. We expect that the meeting will draw approximately 350 attendees, half of whom will be researchers based in the U.S. and the other half from other countries (predominantly European nations where Lyme borreliosis and other tick-borne diseases are endemic). In order to ensure that we select the most cutting-edge and current research for presentation, the majority speakers will be selected by the Scientific Program Committee from the abstract proposals submitted to the conference. Each of the sessions will focus on a specific aspect of tick-borne diseases-ecology of ticks, clinical manifestations of disease, diagnosis, animal models, human studies or molecular pathogenesis-and will begin with a plenary session to provide an expert overview on the state of research in the area. The meeting has been designed to maximize interactions among the participants while ensuring that the needs of a diverse body of attendees are met. Participation from traditionally underrepresented minority groups will be actively solicited.